The House That Gayle Built

Growing up with three brothers can make a girl want her own home. So imagine one who starts babysitting at 14, saves her money and hides it from her brothers. She picks out the house she wants to buy, goes to college and starts a daycare. Renita "Mommy Gayle" Simril talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about her childhood in Anacostia, a spooky experience in the famous Frederick Douglass Home nearby, and how she acquired the house of her dreams in the neighborhood.